Aside from being an accomplished investor, Steve McKnight is one of Australia's most successful business authors and acclaimed public speakers.
McKnight (1972 - ) holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) and is a chartered accountant. He began his career working in Audit at Deloitte (1993-1995), before beginning his own accounting practice (1999-2004) in partnership with David Bradley.
Property Investor
After attending a wealth creation seminar in May 1999, McKnight began investing in positive cash flow real estate, beginning his property portfolio with a $44,000 3-bedroom house in Ballarat, Victoria. What was special about the property was that after all expenses, the rent provided a small surplus.
"The plan was simple", says McKnight. "If we could own enough positive cash flow properties, then the surplus income could be used to replace the earned income from the accounting practice, at which point Dave and I would be financially free."
Using the money made in their accounting practice, Bradley & McKnight began buying positive cash flow rental homes and blocks of units in Ballarat, La Trobe Valley, Tasmania and New Zealand. Aside from rental income, some of the properties were on-sold using vendor finance to potential home buyers who could prove creditworthiness but lacked a deposit.
“To date, McKnight's investment entities have bought upwards of 500 properties, and over the 12 years he has been investing, he's averaged a new purchase every 9 days.”
Infopreneur
In 2001, McKnight co-founded the website www.propertyinvesting.com with a view of assisting other investors with independent yet practical and profitable information about how to use real estate to create wealth. "I can remember when there were 16 people getting the newsletter", McKnight recalls. Today there are over 90,000 members. McKnight remains a director and continues to write content and speak at events run by the company.
Author
In 2003, McKnight received an unexpected call from Wright Books (an imprint of John Wiley & Sons), canvassing the idea of writing a property book. Willing to give something new a go, McKnight wrote his first book (From 0 to 130 Properties in 3.5 Years) on his PC in less than 12 weeks. The book went on to become Australia's #1 selling real estate book (currently having sold over 200,000 copies), and was awarded the status of 'Business Book of the Year' in 2004.
McKnight wrote the sequel (From 0 to 260+ Properties in 7 Years) in 2006, before being asked to revise his first book for re-release in 2010. McKnight's books continue to receive high acclaim and remain among Australia's best selling real estate titles. All royalties received on McKnight's books are donated to the Bradley McKnight Foundation - an organisation that distributes money to underprivileged children.
Expert, Commentator & Speaker
McKnight is regarded as one of Australia's foremost property experts. He has been extensively featured on TV, radio and print media, and he continues to be regularly quoted in the press. As a highly acclaimed speaker, McKnight has been invited to share his thoughts at events throughout Australia and across the globe.
Current Activities
In recent times, McKnight has turned to property investing in the United States, acquiring over 150 properties in less than 18 months.
“It's like history is repeating itself. There's a plethora of positive cash flow properties on offer, and I'm making hay while the sun shines!”
McKnight's books are available in bookstores, and online at www.PropertyInvesting.com
If you'd like to hear Steve speak live then register your interest and receive notification once dates and details are announced.
McKnight is a committed Christian. He is married with children and lives in Melbourne. You can contact him here.